The Physically Educated Child of 2032

11 Mar

September 2025

“Mummy, I like school, but you’re way more keen on it than me.”

This term, it was my turn to experience the other side of school life. My son started school in Reception year, and although I felt confident about what his first days might look like, I approached this moment with both curiosity and trepidation — especially about his physical education journey.

I’ve taught primary physical education in teacher education for over 15 years. I find these first few weeks of a child’s schooling fascinating. I often begin my first lecture each year with the same reflective question:

“What will today’s new school starters be able to know, do, and understand in the name of physical education when they leave primary school in seven years’ time?”

This question always stirs unease. It forces new teachers to imagine themselves in the future — what kind of educator they’ll be, and what kind of experiences they’ll shape. It also brings home a deeper truth: we are responsible for these children’s physical education. The quality of their experience is in their hands.

So, to my son and the Class of 2032: What will their experiences and opportunities be? What will they come to know, do, and understand in the name of physical education?

The First PE Lesson

The day of his first PE lesson arrived. I couldn’t wait to hear all about it. Like parents and loved ones everywhere, I asked, “What did you do in PE today?”

His answer?

“We played football.

My teacher didn’t teach us — Mr E [name changed] did, because he can play football and our teacher can’t.

We played a big game. There was one ball.

I was the best player in the world. [to note, he has a vivid imagination and often likes to take part in physical activity through imaginative role play. Although in the absence of knowing any world class footballers, he settled for him being the best in the world!]

Daisy [not her real name] picked up the ball with her hands, but she wasn’t allowed and got told off— because it’s not rugby.

My team won.

Mrs B [his class teacher] won’t teach us football because she wears skirts and you can’t kick a ball in a skirt, so that’s why Mr E does it.”

I smiled at the imagination and honesty in his words. But beneath the humour and possible somewhat fictional elements of his account , some I knew, were based on fact.

Like many schools across England, his school outsources some of the PE to external providers. They did indeed “do football” that day, and continue to do so. this term. The potential issue I am raising here, is that for children at this stage of their learning (well any stage of learning), is the focus of the lesson should not be on the activity, but what the child needs from that activity.

Learning to Move, or Moving to Learn?

Daisy’s instinct to pick up the ball wasn’t wrong — it was developmentally appropriate.

In cephalocaudal growth, children gain control from head to toe, meaning they often feel more confident moving their upper body and hands first. Similarly, proximodistal growth moves from the body’s centre outward — children may find security and confidence in mastering arm and hand movements before legs and feet.

In other words, Daisy was learning in exactly the way her body was ready for. But the rigid rules of the activity didn’t allow it.

The Case for the Teacher as the Teacher of PE

I’ve written and spoken extensively about the challenges of outsourcing PE (see Griggs & Randall, 2025; Randall, 2022; Randall & Griggs, 2022; Mcveagh, Smith, & Randall, 2020; Griggs and Randall, 2020; Griggs & Randall, 2018) — as have many others (Allan, Quarmby & Dillon, 2023; Sperka & Enright, 2017; Spittle & Spittle, 2022; Williams & Macdonald, 2014). While outsourcing can fill gaps in teacher confidence or expertise, it also raises some often neglected but important questions:

If a class teacher delivers every subject except PE, what message does that send to children about PE?
Does it imply that movement requires a “specialist” — is moving something only sporty people can do?
When an external coach (often male) leads the session, what does that tell children about what a “physically educated body” looks like? This is especially in contrast to the wider primary teaching profession, where most teachers are female.
How do we reconcile classroom expectations with movement learning?
Children are told to sit still, to stop fidgeting, and then in PE are told to move in structured, rule-bound ways. Yet those small daily movements are also vital for developing balance, posture, and coordination. How do we provide children with a much broader education about what it means to be physically educated?

A child’s body doesn’t only move when they come to PE. It moves to learn — all the time.

These subtle messages shape how children see their bodies and what they believe movement is “for.” It is rarely intentional, teachers and schools genuinely want to do right by children, but the system and assumptions around what counts as “real PE” often get in the way. A teacher should not feel judged by their knowledge of specific sports, but have confidence in their understanding of children — how they move, how they grow, and how to create safe, joyful spaces to do both.

Local Realities, Real Needs.

Here in Hampshire, Public Health data shows that at the 2–2.5 year screening stage, our children’s gross motor skills are below the national average.

The screening assessment for this age is:

Does your child walk down stairs if you hold onto one of her hands? She many also hold onto the handrail or wall.
When you show your child how to kick a large ball, does he try to kick the ball either by moving his leg forward or by walking into it?
Does your child walk either up or down at least two steps by herself? She may hold onto the handrail or wall.
Does your child run fairly well, stopping herself without bumping into things or falling over?
Does your child jump with both feet leaving the floor at the same time?
Without holding onto anything for support, does your child kick a ball by swinging his leg forward?

These children are now in pre-school and Reception Year. Together with colleagues at Hampshire County Council, we are working with subject leaders to develop better observation and support strategies for early gross motor development. We have developed further observations for teachers to observe children in older age phases, to better understand progression and what is possible through typical development.

For children at the pre-control phase (aged 4 - 6 years) we asked, can the child:

Travel using each of these skills in isolation: run, skip and gallop in space
Run through object pathways continuously for 30s without touching the objects
Hop on one foot for 10+ hops
Run and stop to a marked spot
Balance on one foot for 10s
Perform a 2-footed jump and land on the same spot
Climb up steps using alternate step patterns without support
Approach a stationary a ball and kick it
Self throw and catch the ball
Throw at a large target

For children at the control phase (aged 7 years upwards) we asked, can the child:

Run in space with changes of direction and speed
Grapevine/crossover step facing one direction there and back
Use a preferred jumping action i.e. leap and 2-2-footed jump, for height and distance
Hop on one side and then another for 10s - on each foot
Travels using a sustained skipping action
Balance on one foot for 30s or longer on both feet
Kick to a partner (stationery)
Dribble the ball on the ground close to the feet in different directions for 30s
Throw a ball against the ball (underhand) and catch a rebound
Throw an object at different height levels and catch it

And for the utlization phase (aged 9+ years) we asked, can the child:

Run with a partner showing changes of speed, direction and shadowing
Sprint, turn, sprint, stop repeatedly
Skip with a skipping rope for 3+ rotations of the rope
Hop, skip and jump in sequence to achieve distance
Balance on one foot for 40s seconds or more
Hold own body weight (i.e. a plank) for 20s
Kick a ball to a travelling partner
Perform dribble/tap/change of direction repeatedly with a ball using the feet
Catch and then throw quickly
Throw to a moving target

This work will be a long term commitment, and may require a rethink of the PE curriculum altogether for children in Reception and Key Stage 1 (ages 4–7) to help meet expected progress. But one thing that should be prioritised, for all children, is to put the need of the child’s body before the need of any particular activity or sport.

Football is a great activity for children, but is it so bad if a 4-year-old picks up the ball and throws it rather than kicks it?

A New Curriculum for Physical Education

As I write this, we stand in the midst of the National Curriculum and Assessment Review — and I’m acutely aware that this will shape my son’s primary curriculum.

The current programme of study, now 12 years old, has seen a generation of change: the optimism of London 2012, substantial investment to schools through the Primary PE and Sport Premium, and the upheaval of a global pandemic that reshaped childhood entirely. With a new curriculum on the horizon, we have an opportunity to reimagine primary physical education — to focus on the heart of what matters.

My Hopes for the Next Chapter of the PE Curriculum

A curriculum that celebrates the body — and everybody! A plea to move beyond sport as the main lens for movement.

Empowered and confident teachers.
PE should be part of every teacher’s identity. With a rich, diverse workforce, we can ensure teachers teach and coaches coach — each playing to their professional strengths.
Professional learning that deepens understanding.
PE professional development must go beyond activity content, It should nurture a knowledge of pedagogy, child development, and movement.
Movement as a whole-school celebration.
Movement is not just be the task of physical education, or to be a health intervention — a fix for “dis-ease” — but a joyful expression of connection and ease throughout every school day.
A subject with its own purpose.
Physical education should not exist to only serve other agendas or trends. Its purpose is to help children move with confidence, competence, purpose, curiosity, and connection.

A Final Thought and Commitment

The physically educated child of 2032 will not simply be able to play games — they will understand movement, value their body, and see physical activity as part of who they are and the world in which they live.

References

Allen, J., Quarmby, T., & Dillon, M. (2023). ‘To a certain extent it is a business decision’: exploring external providers’ perspectives of delivering outsourced primary school physical education. Sport, Education and Society, 29(9), 1099–1113.

Griggs, G and V. Randall (2025) Contemporary Issues in Primary Physical Education, London: Routledge

Randall, V., & Griggs, G. (2020). Physical education from the sidelines: pre-service teachers opportunities to teach in English primary schools. Education 3-13, 49(4), 495–508.

Griggs, G., & Randall, V. (2018). Primary physical education subject leadership: along the road from in-house solutions to outsourcing. Education 3-13, 47(6), 664–677.

Mcveagh, H., Smith, M., & Randall, V. (2020). ‘It’s like it doesn’t really matter’: Are teachers accountable and equipped for teaching primary physical education? Education 3-13, 50(2), 225–237.

Randall, V. (2022). ‘We want to, but we can’t’: pre-service teachers’ experiences of learning to teach primary physical education. Oxford Review of Education, 49(2), 209–228.

Sperka, L., & Enright, E. (2017). The outsourcing of health and physical education: A scoping review: A scoping review. European Physical Education Review, 24(3), 349-371.

Spittle S & Spittle, M, (2022) Outsourcing Physical Education in Schools: What and Why Do Schools Outsource to External Providers? Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, Volume 4, p2 -22.

Williams, B. J., & Macdonald, D. (2014). Explaining outsourcing in health, sport and physical education. Sport, Education and Society, 20(1), 57–72.

Vicky Randall